Charlotte, North Carolina (CNN) - With the Democratic National Convention falling one week after the Republican gathering, Democrats hope to have the "final word" by focusing on the middle class–a message lost during the GOP event, according to a senior Obama campaign official Monday.

"Unlike last week, where you didn't hear one tangible idea...We're going to run on our ideas. We're going to tout and trumpet our ideas," the official told CNN reporters covering the convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - When Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's Twitter account surpassed one million followers this weekend, the campaign took to Twitter to boast about their "1 million active followers." But according to a web app that analyzes the quality of an account's followers, that number may be far from accurate.

The "Fake Follower Check" from StatusPeople, a social media management company, shows that 28% of @MittRomney's followers are inactive and another 14% are fake accounts.FULL POST

Toledo, Ohio (CNN) – President Obama spent Labor Day rallying autoworkers at a high school here, and just days after the start of college football season, he used football to push back against his republican opponent.

"After the convention Governor Romney came here to Ohio and he said he’s going to be the coach that leads America to a winning season," Obama said. "The problem is everybody’s already seen his economic playbook. We know what’s in it."

Charlotte, North Carolina (CNN) - Republicans launched their counter-programming effort in Charlotte on Monday with a simple message: Americans are not better off today than they were four years ago.

"The thrill and pixie dust of the Barack Obama presidency is gone," Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus told reporters. "There is no hope … After four years of Barack Obama we are not better off."FULL POST

(CNN) – His fellow Democrats may have struggled over the weekend to answer the question "are Americans better off now than they were four years ago," but Vice President Joe Biden addressed the query head on at a rally in Detroit Monday, saying it was clear President Barack Obama's accomplishments have put Americans in a better place.

"Folks, let me make something clear," Biden said at the Labor Day event. "I'll say it to the press. America is better off today than they left us when they left."FULL POST

With the 2012 Democratic National Convention getting underway in Charlotte this week, the party of the president will have a chance to solidify its base and reach out to new voters.

Can the party shift attention away from Mitt Romney and the GOP? Will President Barack Obama reignite the magic that launched him to victory in 2008? And will the Dems even try to top Clint Eastwood's empty chair?FULL POST

Charlotte, North Carolina (CNN) - Vice President Joe Biden led an effort on Monday to sharpen the message of Democrats on the eve of their party convention after other senior members struggled to formulate a definitive answer to the question of whether voters should feel better off since President Barack Obama took office.

Biden told a Labor Day campaign rally in Detroit that the country was indeed doing better than when Republicans led by George W. Bush left power in 2009.

Charlotte, North Carolina (CNN) - House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, no stranger to receiving or giving political criticism, quickly took aim at major Republican policies Monday while addressing her home state's delegation at event ahead of the Democratic National Convention.

"Destruction is (the GOP's) political philosophy. It's not that they have a better idea," she told the California crowd at a breakfast in Charlotte, North Carolina. "But doing nothing is their philosophy. They do not believe in a public role."FULL POST

Editor's note: The 2012 presidential race is CNN Chief National Correspondent John King's seventh campaign. He analyzed what challenger Mitt Romney and Republicans needed to do in their convention last week.

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (CNN) - It is a very different year – and very different mood - as Democrats gather for their convention. But there is one carryover from 2008: To win the White House, Barack Obama will once again have to make history.

Four years ago, it was a groundbreaking victory for the first African-American to win the presidency. Now, to win four more years, it is a less glamorous but still significant barrier in his way: only Franklin Roosevelt was re-elected with unemployment this high.

Greenville, North Carolina (CNN) – Paul Ryan, the Republican vice presidential nominee, will put the question that Democrats struggled to answer this weekend at the heart of his campaign message Monday: Are you better off than you were four years ago?

While nothing new for the Mitt Romney-Paul Ryan campaign, that question gained renewed attention Sunday after prominent surrogates for President Barack Obama couldn't give a definitive "yes" answer in various television appearances. On Monday Democrats seemed more certain, though still attempted to balance touting improving economic data with the tough realities that many Americans still face.FULL POST